5 Country Duets That Shouldn’t Have Left the Studio

Sometimes we like to reminisce about great country duets, but sometimes it’s more fun to take a gander at the worst.

Jason and Kelly. Garth and Trisha. Keith and Miranda. Country music is known for producing incredible talent and instantly memorable sonic moments. But sometimes the stars just don’t align, and good tunes find a way to go bad. Here are five collaborations country music could have done without.

5. “Over and Over” – Tim McGraw, Nelly

I always thought I liked this song. But then I realized it came out when I was an impressionable teen who absorbed whatever was deemed “popular” at the moment. Unfortunately, this rather groundbreaking cross-genre collaboration lacked real lyrical, musical, and emotional authenticity. Now I know, I’ve heard better.

4. “Party for Two” – Shania Twain, Billy Currington/Mark McGrath

From the awkward phone call leading into the song to the signature ‘whoop whoop’ of Twain to the fact that she’s having a “party for two” with two different guys… Shania is cool, but she’s just trying too hard. Yeah, this is one for the books.

Didn’t think Rocky could sing? Yeah, you’re right. The entire Rhinestone soundtrack is a disaster. In country music, Dolly can usually do no wrong. But when paired with Stallone, the results are embarrassingly bad. Really, really bad. Though I kind of want to see this movie now…

2. “Justified and Ancient” – Tammy Wynette, KLF

KLF was a popular British band in the early 90s. They thought it would be cool to re-release their hit song “Justified and Ancient” with new verses sung by Tammy Wynette. The result? You may just have to check that out for yourself.

1. “The Gambler Hip-Hop Remix” – Kenny Rogers, Wyclef Jean

Wait, what? Yes, this is real. And it’s so bad that I had to force myself to listen to the entire thing. While not exactly a country duet, it is two different artists knowingly collaborating on a piece of music. And they should’ve known better than to attempt this one.